Man sentenced to 9 years in death of Art Car curator

The prosecution noted that Dustin Poe, 24, had a history of driving drunk before the 2008 fatality.

The prosecution noted that Dustin Poe, 24, had a history of driving drunk before the 2008 fatality.

Photo: Michael Paulsen, Chronicle

Photo: Michael Paulsen, Chronicle

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The prosecution noted that Dustin Poe, 24, had a history of driving drunk before the 2008 fatality.

The prosecution noted that Dustin Poe, 24, had a history of driving drunk before the 2008 fatality.

Photo: Michael Paulsen, Chronicle

Man sentenced to 9 years in death of Art Car curator

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A Houston judge on Wednesday heard friends of Art Car Museum curator Tom Jones describe his last moments alive, then sentenced the drunken driver who killed him to nine years in prison.

State District Judge Herb Ritchie heard from the two men who were sitting next to Jones when he was crushed beneath the Toyota Camry that Dustin Poe struck.

“He was screaming. He was suffering,” said Steven Gagnon, a friend from Miami who was in town for the Art Car Parade. “He was crying out in agony, ‘Get this car off of me!' ”

Jones, Gagnon and Dion Laurent were sitting on a curb outside Houston's Art Car Museum in the early morning hours of May 11, 2008, hours after the annual Art Car parade wrapped up.

Moments before Poe crashed his white Pontiac into their lives, the three men talked about the neighbor's green Camry parked on Heights Boulevard in a spot that was legal at night but not during the day.

“It will either get hit or it will get a ticket,” Jones said, according to testimony.

Could have faced 20 years

The impact with Poe's car propelled the Camry 50 feet in an instant. It landed on Jones and Gagnon, who escaped relatively unscathed.

‘20 years isn't enough'

Mayr said Poe received probation for a 2001 DUI when he was a minor, and again for a DWI in 2004. Juveniles are charged with driving under the influence if they drive with any alcohol in their system. Adults are accused of driving while intoxicated, which means their blood alcohol is .08 or higher.

Investigators said Poe's blood alcohol level was 0.263, more than three times the limit, the night Jones died.

Poe's lawyer, JoAnne Musick, argued that the young man needed treatment, not punishment.

“It took this crash, this collision, for the light bulb to go off,” Musick said of Poe's sobriety since the wreck. She said he continues to suffer from depression and thoughts of self-mutilation.

Video of arrest

Musick asked for a sentence ranging from five to eight years.

After the decision, Jones' brother said listening to the evidence was difficult, but he was satisfied with the sentence.

“He'll learn something in prison, I believe,” David Jones said of Poe.

The most damning evidence against Poe was video of his arrest, where he is heard swearing and his speech is slurred. After speaking to police, he pretended he could not speak English. He also insulted the arresting officer and the officer's mother.

By turns belligerent and quiet, Poe cried, wondered where he was and asked if he could just go home.